Tuesday, February 12, 2008

NL West preview from MLB.com

So I just came across a preview for the NL West, and it didn't exactly make me too happy. To see why, here's the order of finish they predict:

1) Diamondbacks
2) Rockies
3) Padres
4) Dodgers
5) Giants

In fact, the Dodgers were listed under "The Long Shot" category, not to be confused with "The Challengers" in the Padres and Rocks and "The Favorite" in the DBacks. That's great.

Look, I realize I'm obviously not the most unbiased person in the world, but these standings are almost as if they were taken at the end of last season. I guess adding Andruw Jones and Hiroki Kuroda, cutting the excess fat (unhappy veterans), and adding one of the best managers of all-time (that Torre guy) doesn't mean a whole lot.

The bottom of the article makes 3 "bold" predictions for the upcoming season. Here they are along with my reactions:

1)With Peavy, Webb, Penny and now Kuroda and Haren, the 2008 NL Cy Young Award winner will once again come from the West.
There's a good chance, but keep in mind this article was written before Johan Santana was traded to the Mets, so it's not a slam dunk like it once may have been.

2) The 2008 NL Wild Card winner will once again come from the West.
It's been 2 years in a row, so why not a 3rd? The pitching is so good, it will probably happen.

3) Arizona's Micah Owings, 3-3 but with a 3.02 ERA over his last 10 starts of 2007, blossoms into the best No. 5 starter in the league.
Who cares??? I mean seriously, that's the best prediction they could come up with?

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